


Shadow's Theory of Happiness

by Anichibi



Category: Sonic the Hedgehog - All Media Types
Genre: A very OOC Shadow, Acrophobia, Flower Crowns, Gen, Hey look Knuckles is here now, Platonic Relationships, Reminiscing, Shadow being a sweetheart, The Chaotix are the best bros, basophobia
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-01-28
Updated: 2018-03-13
Packaged: 2019-03-10 10:04:54
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 4
Words: 6,725
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/13499698
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Anichibi/pseuds/Anichibi
Summary: Basically think Sonic Battle but without all the fighting and shit and also focused on Shadow





	1. Maria

No missions, no chaos, no nothing. As of right now, life was pretty peaceful. Shadow had been wandering around a forest when he came across a plain filled with flowers. The pastel colors of the various flowers gave the area a calming vibe. He thought for a moment before settling in the grass nearby to stare at the sea of yellows, blues, and pinks in front of him. A thought crossed his mind. "Maria would have loved to see this."

He remembered a lot after the whole Black Arms incident, and most, if not all, of his memories involved Maria. He remembered how they would often look through books together, books filled with pictures of a world they could never see themselves. Oceans, volcanoes, diamonds, people, you name it. They've seen them all. Of all the things they saw, he remembered Maria liking flowers the most. Her favorite was the browallia. As Shadow looked over the area, he spotted a large group of them to the left. A faint smile graced his face. He remembered one time one of the scientists on the ARK had went down to get some for her. He had made them into a flower crown and Shadow had never seen her so happy before.

He decided to make one in her memory and stood up, heading to the collection of purple flowers. He got on his knees in front of the flowers before realizing that he didn't have a clue how to make a flower crown. Sighing, he started picking some flowers before two voices nearby caught his attention. His head spun around to look over his shoulder. He saw Sonic and Cream heading over, chatting about random things that Shadow couldn't hear. They saw Shadow, browallias in hand, and stopped for a second. After a bit, Cream ran over and asked him a question in her usual sweet tone. "Are you here to make flower crowns too, Mister Shadow?" Shadow was nervous. He couldn't admit that he was planning on doing that. Sonic would never let him live it down.

"Uh, I came across this place while I was wandering and thought I'd relax here. I thought these flowers looked nice, so I..." His voice trailed off. "I never knew you like flowers, Shads." Sonic mused, his usual grin gracing his features. "I, uh, well-"

"No need to explain yourself, Shads. Guess even the ultimate lifeform has a soft spot for natural beauty." Sonic chuckled. That wasn't the reaction he was really expecting. He thought Sonic would laugh at him and tease him and such. "Well, actually, I was thinking I'd, uh, make a flower crown in Maria's memory. But, uh..." Sonic looked a bit surprised. He quickly shrugged it off and walked over to the two. "Alrighty. Cream and I will show you how to make a flower crown then! How's that sound, Cream? You don't mind of ol' Shads here joins us, right?" Cream shook her head. "I don't mind at all! It's more fun with more people, after all!" She beamed. "Well, let's get to it!"

The three talked about random things as they picked flowers and weaved them together. "Hey, Shadow, what kind of flowers are these, anyway?" Sure, Sonic knew quite a bit about flowers, but he'd never seen this kind before. "They're browallias. They were Maria's favorite." Shadow looked a bit down after he spoke. The work-in-progress flower crown is his hands was clumsily made and didn't seem to stay together very well. His mind was likely in other places and thus hindered his ability to focus.

"Oh, uh, sorry. I know that probably brings up some bad memories." Sonic rubbed his arm. He wasn't used to Shadow being like this. "It's fine. Besides, it's not like all my memories of her are bad." Shadow replied, returning his focus to the flower crown he was making. "Really? Like what?"

"Well, we used to read books about Earth and such. Maria wasn't allowed to leave the ARK, so that was the only way she could learn anything about it."

"Why couldn't she leave?" Shadow paused for a moment, as if he was considering dropping the conversation entirely. "She had an incredibly fatal and incurable disease that left her weak and frail. She need constant attention, so she wasn't allowed to leave. In fact, I was created by the professor in hopes he'd find a cure for her. But, she just grew weaker. I don't remember much, but I know it was pretty painful to watch." Sonic seemed speechless. He never knew about any of this. "If you don't mind me asking, what exactly happened to her?" Shadow tensed up a bit. He didn't expect that question at all. After a few seconds, his shoulders relaxed and he answered. "She was killed."

"Wh-What?! But, why? By who?!" Sonic seemed to be angered a bit by the thought that a weak, defenseless child was killed before getting a chance to fulfill her wish. "G.U.N. had pulled the plug on Project Shadow. They thought I was too dangerous. So, soldiers came and killed everyone involved in the project."

"But, why kill Maria? She didn't have anything to do with it."

"The professor had told us to escape, so we had ran to the escape pods. However, we were chased by soldiers. She...she put me in an escape pod and launched it. But...not before she was shot by one of the soldiers. I still regret that day. I'd do anything if it meant she could live even just a little while longer." Shadow looked down and held his head. That memory just pained him when he thought about it for too long. He bit his lip. "Shadow...I'm sorry I made you remember that. I was just curious-"

"It's fine. Besides, if I didn't tell you, you probably wouldn't leave me alone about it." Before Sonic could reply, Cream ran over, two flower crowns in hand. There was a blue one of forget-me-nots and a red one of dahlias. "Mister Sonic! Mister Shadow! Look! I made you flower crowns!" She exclaimed. The two looked over at her to see her running through the path of grass in the flowers. When she reached them, she put the blue one on Sonic's head,and the red on Shadow's. The two exchanged glances before Sonic smiled. He looked back to Cream. "Thanks Cream. You did a great job with these! I think they're the best ones you've made so far!" He stated, holding both crowns. Shadow hadn't even noticed Sonic took his off his head.

Shadow looked down at his own crown sadly. It was nowhere near as good as the one that scientist had made for Maria. Sonic seemed to notice pretty quickly. "Hey, Shads, could I see yours for a second?" Shadow looked up in surprise before handing the crown to Sonic. Sonic inspected it before taking the flowers in front of Shadow and weaving them into the crown. Once he was done, he handed it to Cream. "Here. Why don't you finish it, Cream?" She smiled sweetly before finishing up the crown. She handed it back to Shadow, who simply stared at it in surprise. He then looked back up to see Sonic and Cream smiling at him. "Why'd you..?"

"Well, it's in Maria's memory, right? I figured, since this was so important to you, I'd pitch in. And I thought Cream would like to finish it, so..." Shadow looked back at the crown. His sloppy handiwork had been fixed by Sonic, making it look overall nicer. Cream's section, while not quite as good as Sonic's, was still rather impressive, in his opinion. He couldn't help but smile. "I...thank you. I'm sure Maria would love this." He mused.

"I'm sure she would, bud. Now c'mon. Let's go. Vanilla's probably waiting for you to get home, Cream." Sonic stated. "Oh, you're right! See you tomorrow, Mister Sonic!" Cream waved as she ran off.

"So, you gonna be joining us again tomorrow?" Sonic asked as he stood up, offering a hand to Shadow. The crown Cream had made for him had returned to its place on his head. "I guess so." Shadow accepted the offer and let Sonic hoist him to his feet. The blue blur plopped the dahlia crown on Shadow's head. "We should get going too. Me and Tails were planning on doing some traveling soon. Say, wanna come with? I'm sure he'd be thrilled to have you with us." Shadow thought for a moment. "I'll suppose I could." He replied. He decided then that he'd do everything Maria wished she could and live twice as much. For her.


	2. Chaotix

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Shadow meets Mighty, who invites him to join the Chaotix on a mission. With nothing better to do, Shadow joins them in a quest for a Chaos Emerald.

Another day in Station Square went by without any fuss. Eggman had been awfully quiet lately, but Shadow didn't have time to dwell on it as a familiar voice snapped him from his thoughts. "Hey Shads! I've got a friend here I think you should meet!" Sonic's voice caused him to turn in the chair he had been sitting at. He had been out for lunch since he didn't have anything else to do.

He saw Sonic waving at him as he walked over, a red armadillo following him. Once the two made it to the table Shadow was sitting at, he stood up and faced the two. "Shadow, this is Mighty! He's an old pal of mine. And Mighty, this is Shadow! He's a pretty cool guy, but he probably won't like you at first." Shadow glared at Sonic for a second before facing the armadillo in front of him. "Pleasure to meet you, Shadow." Mighty held out his hand for Shadow to shake. He took it and gave it a firm shake.

"Same to you." Shadow replied before letting go. Sonic's eyes widened for a moment as if he remembered something he forgot to mention. "Oh yeah! Mighty here's a member of the Chaotix! They're heading out on a mission tomorrow! Since G.U.N. hasn't been giving you anything to do lately, why don't you go with them? That's cool with you and the guys, right, Mighty?" Sonic turned to face the armadillo in question as he spoke. "Yeah. Vector appreciates the help, actually." Mighty replied.

Shadow internally shrugged. He might as well. G.U.N. usually notified him of missions a few days before, so he really didn't have anything else to do. "Might as well. When are you guys leaving?" Shadow asked. Sonic smiled as Shadow and Mighty discussed plans for tomorrow. After they had finished making their plans, Shadow headed off, waving to the two as he walked away. The two waved back before heading in the opposite way. His thoughts returned to Eggman. What was he planning? Why has he been so quiet lately? Shadow knew one thing: when Eggman's quiet for a whole week, it's not a good thing.

\---------------------------------

"Hey, Shadow! You made it!" Mighty exclaimed with a smile. Behind him were Espio, Vector, and Charmy. "Indeed I did. Exactly what're we doing?" Shadow asked as he approached the group. "We've received word that a Chaos Emerald is somewhere in Windy Valley. Vector decided it would be best to retrieve it before someone else does." Espio explained. "I...see." Shadow had never been to Windy Valley. However, judging by the name, it was probably pretty windy, no doubt about that. "It's over in the Mystic Ruins. Let's go. We've got work to do." Mighty motioned for the group to go. Vector lead the way to the station.

Shadow had been to the Mystic Ruins before. He and Sonic sparred there often. Why Sonic had neglected to inform him of other areas there, he wasn't going to bother questioning. "We'll need to swing by Tails' workshop for an emerald tracker." Vector announced as the went up the steps to the train. "Can't Shadow sense the emerald or something?" Charmy piped up. "Really? You can do that?" Mighty exclaimed, looking over his shoulder at Shadow, eyes wide in surprise. "If it's in the same zone as I am, I'll start picking it up. I'll be able to sense it better the closer I get."

"Well, good thing we brought you along!" Vector laughed. "I had nothing better to do. Mighty invited me, so I decided to come along." Shadow replied plainly. "Well, if you have that much free time, you should join the Chaotix!" Vector chimed from the top of the stairs. "Oh please. G.U.N. keeps me busy enough as it is, I don't need anymore work than I already have. I'm afraid I'll have to decline the offer." Shadow replied, waving his hand as if dismissing the offer. "Well, the invitation's always open!"

"Or if you just want to join us on missions like this, that's fine too. Right, Vector?" Mighty asked, looking back to Vector. "Of course!"

Shadow pondered in his head why they were being so nice to him, but his thoughts were interrupted by the sound of the loudspeakers crackling to life. "The train headed for the Mystic Ruins will be departing soon." A woman announced over the loudspeaker. The loudspeaker shut off as quickly as it had turned on.

"Uh, Vector? Can we go now?" Charmy asked. He had landed at the top of the steps and was tapping his foot with his arms crossed. It was clear he was getting impatient. "Alright, alright, let's go." Vector grumbled something under his breath as he stepped on the last step and up to the train platform. The group then boarded the train just a few seconds before it left the station.

"Hey, Vector, what do you think we'll see there, huh? Is it big? Is it small? ARE THERE ROLLERCOASTERS?!" Charmy was practically bouncing in his seat. "Knock it off, Charmy! If you keep this up, you're staying with Tails at the workshop!" Vector snapped. The threat seemed to work, as Charmy frowned before resting his head on the arm propped on his knee.

"He's certainly a ball of energy, isn't he?" Shadow grimaced. "He's always like this. I've simply learned to live with it." Espio stated plainly, a book in his hands. He didn't glance up from it as he spoke. Shadow looked to his other side to see Mighty had somehow managed to fall asleep despite all the loud noises around them. He looked back in front of him, where Charmy and Vector sat. Charmy was still pouting and Vector was reclining as best as one could in the seat with his hands resting on his chest. A loud snore indicated that he'd fallen asleep already. How he was out like a light after having been awake just a few seconds later was a mystery to Shadow.

He looked back to Espio, the book he was reading catching his interest. "What are you reading?" Shadow craned his head over to get a better look at the picture on the left page. He saw a picture of what looked to be a temple in a forest. It had two statues on either side. One resemblanced an echidna, while the other appeared to be destroyed. Stairs lead to a door at the top with the entrance shaped like the head of a serpent. "It's a book on the Mystic Ruins. It covers most of the temples and shrines there. Vector and Mighty went there before, but Charmy and I haven't." Espio replied.

"I've been a few times, but I didn't explore the area. What is this a picture of?" Shadow pointed to the picture of the temple on the left page. "The book says they're called the ancient ruins. Not much is known about them, but the temple was once likely home to an echidna tribe thousands of years ago." Espio explained, skimming sections of the page as he spoke. The discussion continued until the train slowed down to a halt.

Mighty stretched as the group stepped off the train. "Man, I forgot how uncomfortable those seats are." He commented. "We better hurry and find that emerald before Eggman does." Vector added, doing the same as Mighty had. Shadow had his doubts. "I doubt it. The doctor's been awfully quiet lately. He usually makes his presence known when seeking the emeralds." He commented. "Well, there's also the possibility that he _is_ seeking the emeralds in secret. Better to be safe than sorry, Shadow." Mighty replied.

Mighty lead the group down the stairs and to the entrance to Windy Valley. The winds blowing up to the entrance blew with incredible force. "Alright, we ready, guys?" Vector turned to the group. Everyone nodded in response, though Shadow hesitated for a few seconds. "Then let's go!" Mighty jumped into the winds first, flying up and out of sight. The rest of the group followed. Except Shadow. He swallowed nervously as he stared into the hole the howling winds came from. If there was any free falling, he was going to wish he hadn't come.

After a few seconds, which to him felt like ages, he jumped in and flew up into the sky.

Shadow's eyes were shut tight, but the sensation of his body falling back to Earth was still prevalent. He was freaking out inside. His eyes snapped open before seeing an island floating in the sky, just a few feet away from him. He tried to maneuver himself closer, but he was too far down to be able to make it in time. His fingertips just barely grazed the edge of the island, but he wasn't able to catch himself. A few seconds later, something grabbed his arm, catching him and flying him back up to the island. He looked up and saw that Charmy was holding his wrist with both hands, effortlessly flying him to solid ground.

When they landed, Shadow was still shaken from the experience, and it showed. "Hey, you alright, Shadow?" Mighty asked, putting a hand on the other's shoulder. Shadow shook his head, as if clearing his mind, before brushing Mighty's hand off his shoulder and walking away from the cliff. "I'm fine. Let's hurry and find that damn emerald." He responded coldly. His voice shook just the smallest bit. Mighty seemed a bit skeptical, but he didn't pry.

The group carried on through the zone, Mighty keeping a close eye on Shadow. The hedgehog was careful to keep from falling off the island, but he would be knocked off by the occasional badnik and need Charmy to fly him back to solid ground. He had freaked out a bit when they inexplicably ran on air to another small island. Sonic had told Mighty quite a bit about Shadow, how he never seemed fazed by anything and was always focused on the task at hand. But, from what he was seeing, Shadow was far from the top of his game.

Shadow suddenly stopped running, causing everyone else to bump into him. "Hey, Shadow! Why the he-" Vector was cut off mid-sentence by Shadow, who was pointing up towards a tornado in the middle of the zone as he spoke. "The emerald's up there."

"Oh great. How are we gonna get all the way up there?" Vector groaned. Mighty seemed to have an idea. He moved around everyone else and ran straight towards the tornado. "Mighty? What the hell are you doing?" Vector yelled. Espio was quick to scold the other on his cursing. "Vector! I've told you not to swear in front of Charmy!" He whispered harshly. Vector seemed to ignore him, as they watched Mighty jump over the fence at the edge of the island. Just as he jumped, he turned around and made a sort of gesture to follow him before the tornado pulled him in. After a few seconds, Shadow sighed and shook his head. "He's crazy." He muttered before taking off into the tornado. The winds pulled him in just as they had Mighty.

He maneuvered around the debris and various badniks that the tornado had picked up before landing on an inexplicably stable piece of ground, where Mighty had landed. Ahead of them was a spring. "Shouldn't we wait for the others?" Shadow yelled over the howling winds of the tornado. "They'll catch up. Let's go!" Mighty ran to the spring and jumped on it, letting it launch him up to a higher platform. Shadow quickly glanced back to see if the rest of the Chaotix had made it, but, upon seeing no one else besides himself, followed Mighty and ran to the spring.

It took him to another platform with a single orange panel with the number 1 on it. Shadow looked around, spotting another panel like it with the number 2, and quickly gathering what he was supposed to do. He jumped and was launched to the second panel, then third, then fourth, then fifth, which landed him on a platform with a trampoline. Mighty seemed to have been waiting for Shadow to catch up. "We're almost to the top! Just a little bit further!" He yelled. He then jumped on the trampoline up to a bridge with a spring at the end. Once he hit the spring, he bounced off it and out of sight. Shadow followed suit, hopping on the trampoline a few times to gain height before landing on the bridge. He ran to the spring and let it launch him up into more springs, bringing him to the highest platform in the tornado. The platform had this weird as structure with a spring in the middle. With no where else to go, he jumped on the spring and flew out the tornado.

He found himself free falling yet again, but he kept himself calm enough to make his way to a platform a short distance away. Mighty was there waiting for him. "Hey, Shadow, you took your time, didn't you?" He commented as the hedgehog landed on the ground next to him. "Hmph. I see you didn't run off ahead of me like you did earlier." Shadow replied. "Well, I can't exactly find the emerald without you, Shadow. We never picked up that tracker from Tails, so there's no way we'd be able to find the thing in this zone without your help." Mighty gestured to the place as he spoke. Shadow looked around the zone. It was a collection of floating island connected by grates that looped. They had steep inclines and corkscrews and various other things. It was like the place as made for Sonic.

"I do see your point. This zone is pretty big." Shadow stated as he took it all in. This place was rather nice to look at, but his acrophobia was making him a bit fidgety. He fiddled with the inhibitor ring on his wrist, something Mighty noticed pretty quickly. Before he could say anything, Espio landed behind them, rolling to cushion his fall. Vector landed flat on his stomach, while Charmy flew over and landed next to him. "Sorry we took so long. You caught us off guard when you jumped in that tornado." Espio bowed. "No need for apologies. I didn't really give you guys any warning or anything." Mighty shook his head. "Shall we continue? I'd like to find that emerald as soon as possible." Shadow chimed in, his arms crossed. He was getting impatient, by the looks of it. "Right. Let's go!" Mighty ran ahead of them. He acts a lot like Sonic, Shadow thought. Shaking his head, he followed Mighty, this time making sure the others were behind him.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This will be continued in the next chapter, so I hope you'll continue! If you liked this, please leave a kudos and comment what you liked! See you guys next chapter!


	3. Mighty

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Continuation of the previous chapter.  
> The Chaotix find out about Shadow's acrophobia and basophobia. Upon realizing their only way back is jumping down, Shadow (hesitantly, mind you) faces his fears head on.

Shadow was a bit uneasy as the group carried on through Windy Valley. Either it wasn't noticable to the others, or they had noticed but weren't saying anything. He tried not to let the fact that, one, they were really high up, and two, a fall from here could very well cause him to lose his memories again, get to him. He just stayed focused on the emerald's energy signature. Soon, the glowing blue gem was in sight. He skidded to a halt in front of it, waiting for everyone else to catch up.

He was about to grab the emerald before it gave off a powerful wave of energy that sent him flying. "The emeralds have never done that before!" He yelled. Suddenly an overwhelming sense for fear took him. He was falling, and he could see the bottom of the island he had just been standing on mere moments ago. He was falling fast. Panicked screams escaped him. His heart started beating faster. Without a Chaos Emerald, he couldn't use Chaos Control to teleport back up. He was left grasping at nothing but the air in front of him. He saw Charmy flying down to him fast. The bee grabbed his wrists, flying him back up to the island. He was even more terrified than he usually was in this kind of situation. Why was that?

Charmy put him back on solid ground, the group watching him with a mix of surprise and concern. "Shadow, what was that?! We saw you fall and thought something pushed you off or something!" Mighty shook the other, clearly shaken by what had just occurred. Shadow took a bit to get his bearings before answering. "The emerald emited this weird force that launched me off. Not only that, but it seemed to have... amplified my emotions... I think." Shadow got Mighty's hands off his shoulders and approached the emerald cautiously. He reached out to it, no forces shoving him away.

When he grabbed it, he was terrified and his head pounded painfully. He dropped the gem and collapsed, clutching his head and gasping for air. The others acted immediately, Mighty and Espio running to Shadow and helping him up. Vector was about to pick up the emerald before Shadow yelled. "Don't touch it!" Vector's hand stopped just inches away from the emerald. "It's a fake..." Shadow explained, breathless. He was in too much pain for his fear to be a distraction. "A fake?" Espio eyed the emerald. It looked real enough. "It has a lot of negative energy. When I touched it, my fear was amplified and my head felt like someone stabbed a nail into it. The emeralds have never done that before. It must've been made by Eggman." He explained. 

"So, that means we..." Mighty frowned, his shoulders slouching. "We were too late, yes." Shadow finished the unfinished statement, his expression grim. "We came all the way here for a counterfeit emerald. Eggman had the real one from the very beginning."

"How are we gonna explain this to Sonic and the others?" Vector asked, a hand on the back of his head. "We just tell them, plain and simple." Espio answered. His stoic expression didn't change, but there was the smallest glimpse of disappointment in his eyes. "Well, let's get going. Hopefully this doesn't mean Eggman's gotten all the emeralds already." Vector sighed.

"Highly unlikely. If he had them all, he'd probably be terrorizing the world as we speak." Shadow chimed. He rubbed his forehead, the pain from before now a distant memory. "Well, for now let's worry about getting back to the Mystic Ruins. Without a real emerald, our only way back is jumping off and hoping for the best." Mighty had let go of Shadow, now looking over the edge of the island and at the clouds below. "There must be another way, right?!" Shadow asked, panicked. The Chaotix gave him weird looks. "Shadow, are you alright? You seemed on edge ever since we got here." Mighty asked, moving in front of the hedgehog and placing a hand on his shoulder.

"Well..." God, where was Shadow supposed to start? He could just keep quiet, but they'd probably pry for answers. "I... me and heights don't exactly mix well..." His eyes looked everywhere except the faces staring at him. He hated the attention he was getting right now. "That... would explain quite a bit, actually." Mighty thought aloud, his hand slipping off the other's shoulder. "Yeah, you were screaming pretty loud when you fell earlier." Charmy chimed in. "And you seemed pretty shaken when we got here. I guess you weren't expecting to be free falling, huh?" Mighty rubbed the back of his head. Shadow simply nodded. "Sorry about that. Sonic never told me that-" Shadow cut him off. "Sonic doesn't know. I've never told anyone."

"Well, anything else we should know before we leave?" Mighty had his hands on his hips, a small smile on his face. "... I'm not a fan of falling, either." Shadow just barely spoke loud enough to be heard. "That would've been nice to know earlier, but I guess I can let it slide." Mighty glanced back to the edge of the island, his grin faltering. "You may have to face your fears one more time, though." Shadow didn't seem to like the sound of that. "Are you sure that's the only way back?" He asked. "Charmy can't carry all four of us at once, and the fake emerald won't do anything besides give us a headache, so yes, that's the only way back, unfortunately." Mighty sighed, giving Shadow a sympathetic look. Shadow gulped before nodding. "Alright. I'm ready."

"Are you sure?" Mighty seemed a bit surprised. Part of him expected it to take a bit of convincing to get him to agree.

"You said it yourself. The only way back is jumping." Shadow hesitantly walked to the edge of the island. The others followed. "This is going to be the single dumbest thing I ever do in my life." Espio deadpanned, staring down at the clouds. "I've done dumber things." Mighty commented. "Everyone ready?" Vector asked. "Ready!" They replied. "On three. One..." Mighty started counting. "Two..."

"Three!" They all jumped off, the wind blowing in their faces. Shadow's eyes were shut tight and he was biting his lip hard. Hands grabbed his wrists and his eyes snapped open to see Mighty, grinning wildly as he held tightly to the other's wrists. "You doing alright, Shadow?" He yelled over the howling winds. Shadow glanced down. They were already going through the clouds, and Shadow was starting to see ground. He tensed, moving his hands to grab Mighty's wrists. His grip was tight, and it tightened more as the ground became more and more visible. "Shadow, stop looking down!" His head immediately snapped up to Mighty's face. "Look at me or close your eyes or something! Just don't look down!" Shadow opted to shutting his eyes. It didn't help all that much, but it prevented him from panicking about how close they were to the ground. Suddenly, they stopped falling. Shadow's eyes opened and looked up to see that Charmy had grabbed them both and was bringing them down slowly.

Once on the ground, Shadow let go of Mighty's wrists, him doing the same. Mighty rubbed his wrists, where there had been a bright red mark from Shadow's death grip. Shadow noticed the marks. "Was that me? I'm sorry, I didn't... um..."

"Hey, relax. I'm just glad I was able to calm you down a bit." Mighty pat Shadow's shoulder before walking away, leaving him to stare in surprise. He was snapped from his thoughts when Vector called him. "Hey, Shadow, we're leaving! You coming or what?" The hedgehog quickly dismissed his thoughts and ran to the station.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This chapter was originally going to be a bit longer and reveal that Sonic and Tails would be travelling around the world (thus they'd be absent for the next few chapters) but I didn't want to have this in my notes forever, so that was cut out. It will be brought up next chapter at the earliest.


	4. Amy Rose

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Shadow heads to the Chaotix agency, but due to them being incredibly busy, finds a different way to spend his day.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Quick note  
> Acrophobia = fear of heights  
> Basophobia = fear of falling

Today was going to be an eventful day, that's for sure.

The Chaotix had decided (without his permission) to help Shadow overcome his acrophobia and basophobia. It was something he wasn't looking forward to, but Espio said they could check out the Mystic Ruins afterwards, so that was nice. Besides, if he didn't show up, Vector and Charmy would probably bust into his apartment and drag him there themselves.

Shadow was now standing in front of the Chaotix agency, a bit hesitant in stepping in. He was almost ready to run in hopes he'd be able to get out of this when the door opened. Mighty was there, a bag slung over his shoulder. He looked up upon noticing Shadow and smiled, walking over to the hedgehog. "Hey, Shadow! What brings you here?" Mighty asked, a hand on his hip while his other hand held the straps of the bag he was holding. "Charmy and Vector were going to help me with...things today." Shadow replied. Mighty seemed to understand what he meant by "things", even if he didn't clarify. "What about you? Where are you going?" Shadow asked, redirecting the conversation from himself to the armadillo in front of him. "Oh, Knuckles and I were gonna go on an emerald hunt. We figured we'd search here since Sonic and Tails aren't around." Shadow nodded in response, accompanied by a hum of understanding. Sonic and Tails had decided to travel the world in search of the emeralds, so they weren't going to be around for a week at least.

"Well, I shouldn't keep the ol' knucklehead waiting. Catch you later, Shadow!" Mighty ran off, waving at the other as he did so. Shadow waved back a bit before turning his attention back to the agency. He could see Charmy waving at him through the window on the second floor, so there really wasn't any way he'd get out of this now. Sighing in resignation, he stepped into the building.

That first step was all it took for him to regret ever coming in here.

Several people were sitting in the lobby, most of which he recognized, with annoyance painted clearly on their faces. Poor Espio was busy trying to calm down an especially angry person, yelling something about how they weren't doing their job and the like. Shadow redirected his sight to the other people. Amy stood out, whether because of her pink hue or the fact she wasn't wearing her usual dress, instead sporting shorts and a striped tank top with a big red 1 on it. She seemed more moody than angry. Shadow was about to ask her, but Vector had already noisily rushed down the stairs. "Hey, Shadow, I know we said we'd help you out today, but we're really busy dealing with these people. We're gonna have to reschedule." Vector said in a hurry. Shadow saw Amy groan before standing up and leaving the agency. "You understand, right?" Shadow nodded in response to the question. "I can tell already that you guys have your hands full. Mighty picked a good time to bail on you." He laughed just a little bit at his comment.

"You can say that again. The moment he saw three people come in at once, he packed a bunch of stuff and left." Vector rubbed the back of his head, sighing. "Anyway, you're not busy tomorrow, right?" He asked. "My schedule for the entire month is pretty much clean. I'll come back tomorrow." Shadow went out the door after finishing his sentence.

The first thing that caught his eye was Amy, sitting on the sidewalk with her hands on her cheeks, her arms on her knees and propping her head up. She didn't notice Shadow sit down next to her. "So, what are you doing here?" Amy visibly jumped before whipping her head around to Shadow. "Don't scare me like that!" She shrieked a little too loudly, making Shadow wince as he covered his ears. "Oh, sorry, Shadow." She apologized as soon as she noticed his actions. "It's fine. Anyway, what were you doing at the Chaotix agency?" Shadow asked. Amy slouched again before muttering at a volume just barely loud enough to hear, "I lost one of my favorite bracelets."

Now that Shadow was closer, he could see that her gold bracelets weren't on her wrists. They were instead replaced with white sweatbands with a red stripe in the middle. The only thing she wore from her usual outfit were her boots. Shadow thought for a minute. He could just walk away, but something was nagging him to help her out. After a few seconds, he sighed in resignation. He's been hanging around Sonic too much, hasn't he? "Where did you last have it?" He asked. Amy perked up a bit. "You'll help me?"

"Well, I don't have anything better to do. Now, where did you last have it?" Shadow repeated his question. Amy pressed her index finger against her cheek in thought. "I remember having it when I went with the girls to Emerald Coast." Amy then gasped in realization. "What if it's buried in sand?! Or the ocean carried it away?! What if someone else found it and now I'll never get it back?!" She started hyperventilating. Shadow quickly grabbed her shoulders as if keeping her on the ground. "Breathe, Amy. Calm down. Let's just go to the beach and see if we can find it. Alright?" Amy's breathing steadily returned to normal. She thanked Shadow before standing up, Shadow following her.

They went to Emerald Coast in a hurry, eventually reaching the sandy coastline. There was barely anyone there. Shadow could see Knuckles and Mighty digging through the sand, probably looking for an emerald. He looked over by the water and saw Cream and Blaze playing, splashing each other with big grins on their faces. He's never seen Blaze smile so much. It was nice, actually. He quickly brushed the thought aside and went over to Knuckles and Mighty. They both looked up at him with a hint of surprise. "Have either of you found a gold bracelet?" He asked. The two exchanged looks before shaking their heads. "Nope. Sorry, Shadow. All we've found is sand and broken robot parts." Mighty held up a rusty Crabmeat claw for emphasis. "We'll let you know if we find it. Sound good?" Shadow nodded in response before walking back to Amy.

"Any luck?" Amy asked. "No, unfortunately. But I guess that means we'll have to start digging." Shadow replied. He turned around and looked over the beach. Cream and Blaze were still playing, while Knuckles and Mighty were fighting with a crab that had a death grip on Mighty's finger. "Let's get started."

The two began digging through the sand in hopes of finding the missing bracelet. It was a tiring process, and Shadow was starting to get frustrated before he saw a green glow from in between the sand particles. In that instant, he had forgotten all about the bracelet he was supposed to be looking for and dug faster. Soon, he was able to get his hands on the glowing stone-the Chaos Emerald. He didn't marvel at it for long, as he then saw something gold and round just barely peaking out from the sand. He dug a bit more and pulled it out. Turning to Amy, who was slouching in defeat, he stood up and ran to her, bracelet in one hand and emerald in the other. He stopped behind Amy and dropped the bracelet next to her, the sound catching her attention before she picked it up and gasped.

"My bracelet! You found it!" She squealed, standing up. She turned to Shadow and trapped him in a bone crushing hug. "Thank you, Shadow, thank you so much! I thought I'd never see it again!" She jumped as she spoke, hugging Shadow even tighter than before. "Amy...too tight...you're hurting me..." Shadow spoke up weakly. Amy took a moment to process his words before letting him go. "Sorry! I didn't mean to hurt you!" Shadow rubbed his arms in an attempt to ease the pain Amy had caused. "It's fine, I've felt worse." Shadow sighed. "But seriously, Shadow, thank you." Shadow looked up to see Amy giving him a thankful smile, clutching the bracelet in her hands.

"Well, glad you guys found what you were looking for." Knuckles said a few feet away. "Today was a bust for us." Mighty added. "I wouldn't be so sure, you two." Shadow held up the emerald in his hand, watching the two treasure hunters' jaws drop. He threw the emerald to Knuckles, who fumbled to catch it. He turned back to Shadow. "Thanks, man. You really are a pretty good guy, despite all the stuff Sonic told me!" Mighty laughed. "Exactly what did that imbecile tell you?!" Shadow yelled, his question met with laughter. After a few seconds, he joined them in their laughter.


End file.
